restaurant: Lulu La Delizia / Subiaco

restaurant: Lulu La Delizia / Subiaco

We have "pasta of the day" followed by coffee. Both coffee and pasta are delicious. Service is friendly and fast, not too fast.

We eat inside, the advantage of booking ahead, the outside air is just a bit too cool for comfort.

This is a cheerful, friendly restaurant. Popular with young & old. Crowded on a Tuesday evening. For our tastes -- too noisy. A place for jolly banter rather than quiet discussion.

Rated two out of three: very enjoyable food and experience but a bit too noisy for regular visits.

Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper

...        Agamedes Consulting / Problems ? Solved

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"Relax. Only dread one day at a time." … Ginger Meggs

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Dying for you to read my blog, at https://notdotdeaddotyet.blogspot.com.au/ :-)

cafe: CheekyChinos / Stirling

cafe: CheekyChinos / Stirling

Definitely not hipster ! Busy but not crowded. No tatts, no man-buns, just two people providing friendly service. No clever theme, no funky furniture, no confusingly clever artwork. A very simple café.

Pleasant, relaxed, good coffee and muffin.

We eat outside. A very small area -- pleasantly grassed if we had moved a bit further. Just 20m from the busy Karrinyup Road. It feels... peaceful. Enough space that we can enjoy a feeling of privacy. Despite the people sitting at the next table.

Rated two out of three: we would happily visit again -- if we were in the area.

It's on a corner which we pass regularly -- on the way to somewhere else. This time, I'm glad we stopped.

Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper

...        Agamedes Consulting / Problems ? Solved

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"Relax. Only dread one day at a time." … Ginger Meggs

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Dying for you to read my blog, at https://notdotdeaddotyet.blogspot.com.au/ :-)

Gridlinked / Neal Asher

Gridlinked

(Agent Cormac #1)

by Neal Asher

science fiction

copyright 2001

read in November 2018

rated 6/10: read to pass the time

I recently read a very recent book by this author -- and was disappointed. Heavy hard science fiction with no human interest. Possibly there were too many characters from previous books, books which I have not read ? Anyway, as a one-off book, it was disappointing.

Disappointing because I know I have thoroughly enjoyed previous books by Asher.

I grabbed Gridlinked in an attempt to renew my appreciation of Asher's writing. With only partial success.

There is a lot of hard science... Fascinating... for a while. Then boring. Magic by another name. Patches of ultra-violence... that's just me, I'm currently not in the mood for extreme violence.

There is, however, a decent dose of human interest. A hero with some problems, some personal growth. A villain with a reason for his villainy. A range of secondary characters with a range of personalities.

Unfortunately, too many characters for me to follow. Especially since I lost interest, put the book down, then finished it in very short bursts. Had trouble distinguishing the various characters. Still, there were enough interesting characters to, well, to make the book interesting. Sort of.

Somewhere after 400 pages -- the story finally escaped from an engineer's report to an actual novel. A book where something -- other than magical construction -- finally happens. Okay, the first 400 pages did include a lot of story. Yet there is a noticeable increase in the action of a "plot" after those first 400 pages of somewhat tedious build-up.

Asher thinks big, this novel is more than just a boys' big book of adventure. My interest in what is happening fades, because the story is slow -- and often lost in the detail of the scientific invention.

This book is readable. It's entertaining though occasionally violent. Great as hard science fiction. Quite average as a readable novel.

Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper

...        Agamedes Consulting / Problems ? Solved

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"Relax. Only dread one day at a time." … Ginger Meggs

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Dying for you to read my blog, at https://notdotdeaddotyet.blogspot.com.au/ :-)

café: Canteen Trigg

café: Canteen Trigg

No man buns, no visible tatts. Still, Canteen is hipster. Cheerful, crowded, loud. Semi-repurposed: really a revamped part of an older restaurant. Was it an outdoor verandah ? With a well-worn bare concrete floor but an apparently new ceiling.

This is another subcategory of hipster: family / beach hipster. There's a distinct atmosphere to a beachside almost-kiosk café. Including the family -- with kids -- clientele. Not the community feel of some cafes but the family feel of a beachside kiosk. Pleasantly cheerful, very informal. (I almost entered the other café which shares this building, a far more formal affair.)

Pushing the modern hipster feel -- and well suited to a beachside snackery -- all plates, cups & cutlery are disposable, organic, compostable. The diner picks up the meal from the counter -- and clears their own table, directly to the nearby rubbish bins.

Coffee was fast and good, choc éclair was delicious. A limited choice of "cake" but plenty of meal options.

We enjoyed our coffee & cake. Had trouble squeezing out from behind the bolted-to-the-floor table. Stepped outside -- and were immediately relieved to be clear of the loud chatter and barely audible background music.

Two out of three: worth a visit but it's not on our must-go-again list.

Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper

...        Agamedes Consulting / Problems ? Solved

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"Relax. Only dread one day at a time." … Ginger Meggs

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Dying for you to read my blog, at https://notdotdeaddotyet.blogspot.com.au/ :-)

The Freeze-Frame Revolution / Peter Watts

The Freeze-Frame Revolution

by Peter Watts

science fiction

copyright 2018

read in November 2018

rated 6/10: read to pass the time

Let me be clear: I am not a huge fan of "hard" science fiction. If *you* love hard SF -- rate this book higher. It is hard. For much of the book my mind simply glazed over.... In between, however, is an interesting book.

The author writes that he considers it to be a novella, just a thousand words longer than publishers' expectations for a novella. I have another idea: this book is two short stories.

There are two major concepts being explored. Each concept is the "what if" basis for its own story. Each story makes a point -- but is less complete than a full novel. Two short stories in a single, merged, narrative.

One story is telegraphed on the back cover: How do you stage a mutiny when you are only awake one day in a million ? It's a good question and well explored. Yet the conclusion is incomplete, unsatisfactory. Acceptable in a short story, not in a novel. (Unless you read only for the hard science...)

The second "short story" is similarly inconclusive. At first I thought it was just tacked on as an afterthought. Then I realised that there had been hints, throughout the book. So it is a well developed "what if" -- with an unsatisfying conclusion.

The book is interesting, good science fiction, not exactly gripping. The story (each of the stories) is well written, it simply never grabbed my attention. I enjoyed the "what if" aspects but the science which occupies a lot of the book is... boring. Unless you are reading for the excitement of scientific extrapolation.

This book is well written hard science fiction. With a very low level of escapist enjoyment. If hard science fiction is your cup of tea, this is a good book to read. 

Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper

...        Agamedes Consulting / Problems ? Solved

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"Relax. Only dread one day at a time." … Ginger Meggs

===

Dying for you to read my blog, at https://notdotdeaddotyet.blogspot.com.au/ :-)

cafe: Fortysevenkirwanstreet / Floreat

cafe: Fortysevenkirwanstreet / Floreat

This café, I have decided, is in its own subcategory: community hipster. At least one other café -- Some-Day -- has a community feel, a Western suburbs community feel. Fortyseven more truly reflects the family feel of a complete community. Perhaps I am biased because we have come straight from the nearby toddlers' toy library ?

Fortyseven is hipster... sort of. Repurposed from a simple shop, yes. Simple shelves attached to walls and adorned with an eclectic mix of plants and objects and (definitely) toy vehicles, yes. Tattoos and man buns on the staff ? No. Not visible, anyway.

Customer photos on one wall, with space for more. A board for loyalty cards, dozens of cards, no need to search your wallet... an interesting idea.

Service is provided by one young woman with a natural, friendly smile. The barista and one or two other staff keep a low profile. Our cinnamon scroll is doughnut texture, definite cinnamon taste, icing made from condensed milk. Simple, nice, nothing spectacular.

Busy but not crowded, plenty of choice of seats. We see a little girl, a toddler, being lead outside by her parents. Is she looking for a toilet, we wonder ? Or... A staff member appears, with a mop, where the child has been sitting. Very much a family-friendly, community, hipster café.

We have been here once before, many months ago. Since then -- if I remember correctly -- the café has been painted, new furniture bought. A sign of success -- well deserved.

It's a place where we feel comfortable, welcome. I rate it as three out of three: not only do we enjoy today's experience but we will go out of our way to return.

Oh, and I like the name. It is a name which says clearly, This is not a franchise. It is a pleasant café which serves its local community. Perhaps this is not really... hipster.

09feb19: Another enjoyable visit, definitely three out of three. Also:

Yes, I'm happy that it is hipster. In fact, this café is "real" hipster rather than "marketing" hipster. The staff seem friendly because they are friendly. Not because they are paid to be friendly. Most importantly: the wall decorations -- occasional shelves with odd things on them -- are "what was available". They do not look as though they came from the hipster-manufacturing-factory, they look like interesting items which just happened to be available.

An authentic community hipster café. Very pleasant.

Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper

...        Agamedes Consulting / Problems ? Solved

===

"Relax. Only dread one day at a time." … Ginger Meggs

===

Dying for you to read my blog, at https://notdotdeaddotyet.blogspot.com.au/ :-)

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Sorcerer to the Crown / Zen Cho

Sorcerer to the Crown

by Zen Cho

fantasy

copyright 2015

read in October 2018

rated 7/10: well worth reading

Magic in Regency England, nothing startling here. Will the hero marry the heroine ? (I don't think that the next sentence counts as a spoiler, the answer is well telegraphed !) Well, of course. Nothing startling here.

Beyond the obvious -- this book is unique ! And very enjoyable :-) Lots of new ideas, presented in an enjoyable fashion.

Think PG Wodehouse -- with magic, politics and murder. Strange and entertaining characters appear -- sometimes unexpectedly but always sensibly. A heap of great ideas which do add up to a coherent whole. Here's an interesting one:

The hero is black. He is subject to racial prejudice and social distrust. Yes, there is a message here -- but it is not a pointed, hammer the reader over the head with it message. It is simply presented as an essential part of the plot. I take the message -- without objection.

The villains do tend to be a bit stupid, a bit easily cowed. There are plenty of very likeable characters, perhaps too many. I had the feeling that the stage was being set for a multi-character, multi-volume epic... and yet, the ending is perfectly satisfactory.

The ending is a solid & satisfying conclusion -- with room for more books. Sorcerer is the ideal first book for a series: every loose end has been wrapped up, there are no cliffhangers -- just a strong wish to read more !

I enjoyed reading this book. I hope there are more in the series. [A quick check of Wikipedia: No more yet. Ah well. Pity.]

Well worth reading.

Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper

...        Agamedes Consulting / Problems ? Solved

===

"Relax. Only dread one day at a time." … Ginger Meggs

===

Dying for you to read my blog, at https://notdotdeaddotyet.blogspot.com.au/ :-)